Poirier reflects on 35 years with Gardner PD

By Owen Boss

GARDNER — Officials at the Gardner Police Department are quick to praise the achievements of Detective Lt. Gerald Poirier, who has devoted the last 35 years of his life to serving the Gardner community. According to Police Chief Neil Erickson, Lt. Poirier has been an asset to the department for a long time, and his career has been marked with many successful investigations. “Jerry has put in a lot of time and effort, and has been a credit to the department,” said Chief Erickson. “He has really found his spot in the detective bureau for the last couple of years. He has done a great job as a liaison for the Worcester County Drug Task Force and has had many successful investigations.” Lt. Poirier began working at the Gardner Police Department as a patrolman in 1973, and through hard work and dedication to the community has worked his way up the chain of command and is currently the head of the North Worcester County Drug Task Force. He added that all of his success within that department can be attributed to the sharing of information and resources between area police departments. “What we have are a group of individuals from different departments in the region who are willing to check their ego and their individual uniform at the doorstep,” said Lt. Poirier. “It’s the teamwork that helps us become a unified team, and a great crime fighting machine.” There is one particular legacy that the lieutenant would like to leave the community concerning his career: His efforts have been focused toward preventing crime rather than enforcing it. “A lot of the time, police officers focus their efforts on arresting people, and corrections facilities are worried about incarcerating people,” said Lt. Poirier. “Not enough of these institutions focus on preventing the crime before it happens through community programs.” Reflecting on his 35 years with the police department, Lt. Poirier said he has witnessed a systemic problem on a national level that seems to promote more crime. While he recognizes the importance of government-funded programs such as public welfare, it is a known fact among officials at the department, according to the lieutenant, that criminals and drug addicts may use the system to maintain their basic needs which enables them to continue committing crimes such as prostitution, retail theft, and the sale of drugs. oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 1 on 4/26/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 100)